49ers WR Joshua Morgan breaks ankle

Wide receiver Joshua Morgan broke his right ankle after catching a 19-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick in the fourth quarter of the 49ers‘ 48-3 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday, according to CSN Bay Area.

Morgan, who ranks second on the team in receptions (15) and receiving yards (220), caught a 4th-and-3 pass along the right sideline, and his ankle was pinned under a Tampa Bay defender as he was dragged out of bounds at the Buccaneers’ 1-yard line.

San Francisco was leading 41-3 with less than five minutes left, so head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked why his offense was still passing.

“You’ve got to play,” Harbaugh said. “You can’t take a knee with four minutes left in the game. … Kaepernick is competing; he’s got to get work. We’re not taking a knee with four minutes left in the game.”

The loss of Morgan leaves the 49ers with three healthy receivers on their active roster: Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn and Kyle Williams, who has three career receptions. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who had surgery for a torn meniscus after Week 2, could return Oct. 30, after the bye week, when the Niners host Cleveland.

Offensive line’s improvement: It appears left tackle Joe Staley might have been right.

Upon further review, the 49ers’ offensive line doesn’t suck.

Staley, who offered a passionate and terse defense of the front five after it struggled in the first three games, was part of a unit that didn’t allow a sack and paved the way for a rushing attack that had 213 yards and averaged 5.9 yards a carry Sunday.

It was the second straight solid performance by a much-maligned line that had allowed 11 sacks in a two-game stretch prior to the previous Sunday’s win at Philadelphia and was at least partly responsible for running back Frank Gore‘s slow start.

But after Gore (20 carries, 125 yards) ripped off his second straight 100-yard game, Staley said he wasn’t in I-told-you-so mode.

“No, I don’t play like that,” said Staley, who offered the we-don’t-suck line before the win against the Eagles. “My emotions got the best of me there. I felt like I had to stick up for my guys. I just know how hard we work.”

Jean Francois shines: In his first career start, nose tackle Ricky Jean Francois earned a game ball after collecting three tackles and helping limit Tampa Bay’s 247-pound running back LeGarrette Blount to 34 yards on 10 carries.

Jean Francois was starting in place of Isaac Sopoaga, who was out with a staph infection.

Briefly: Gore moved into fourth place in franchise history in career rushing touchdowns with his 38th, a 2-yard run in the second quarter. He broke a tie with quarterback Steve Young and running back J.D. Smith. Roger Craig and Joe Perry share the franchise record with 50, and Ken Willard (45) ranks third. … The 49ers have scored 69 points in their past six quarters.